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April 2022

Dear Friends,

The story of David and Goliath is one of the most well known in the Bible. Against incredible odds, David – a shepherd boy with little more than a slingshot – takes on Goliath, a giant whose size and power make David’s challenge look laughable. Yet as we know, David wins.

Earlier this month, Operation Noah learned that our Bright Now campaign had been shortlisted for the ‘David & Goliath Award’ as part of the National Campaigner Awards 2022, presented by the Sheila McKechnie Foundation. The award is given to ‘individuals or small campaign groups that take on much bigger organisations and challenge vested power’. In addition to our campaign, two other campaigns were nominated.

Though Operation Noah has a small staff and income, our Bright Now campaign has now seen nearly every major denomination in the UK divest from fossil fuels, and we are now able to say that 10 Church of England dioceses have formally divested from fossil fuels and have pledged not to invest in fossil fuels in the future – up from zero dioceses in early 2021!

Before the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26), we also helped organise the largest-ever joint divestment announcement by faith groups, and we are pleased to report that we have now settled on a date for our next Global Divestment Announcement5 July 2022 – which we hope will be the biggest ever!

Thank you for everything you do to encourage and campaign with us, and also for your generous donations which keep us going! We take inspiration from what Jesus told his disciples: ‘Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God, everything is possible’ (Matthew 19:26).

The Operation Noah Team

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Join the next Global Divestment Announcement this summer

Operation Noah will organise the next Global Divestment Announcement, which will be held on 5 July 2022. Churches and faith institutions in the UK and around the world are invited to divest from fossil fuels – or pledge never to invest in fossil fuels if they currently hold no fossil fuel investments – and join the announcement, which is sponsored by Operation Noah and our partners Green Anglicans, GreenFaith, Laudato Si’ Movement and the World Council of Churches. Read more.

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Milestone: 10 CofE dioceses have divested from fossil fuels

In the last year, 10 Church of England dioceses have formally divested from fossil fuels or have pledged never to invest in the future – a remarkable change inspired by our Bright Now campaign. Our Bright Now Campaign Officer, Bokani Tshidzu, looks back on an incredible year that started with the Dioceses of Bristol and Oxford divesting in the spring of 2021. Read more.

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On the Operation Noah blog

Time is running out: what the IPCC report means for fossil fuels and climate solutions

Earlier this month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its 6th Assessment Working Group III report: ‘Mitigation of Climate Change’. Bright Now Campaign Officer Sharon Hall explores the key findings of the report and what this means for our work on fossil fuels, and on investment in climate solutions and nature-based solutions. Read more.

Jim Green and Chris Hull use cycling pilgrimage to call on Church of England dioceses to divest from fossil fuels

Backed by Operation Noah, the two Norwich-based campaigners cycled to three dioceses earlier this month, meeting with clergy along the way. Read more.

Join our Divest the Church of England online training session on Wednesday 18 May

This one-hour training session, which runs from 5.30-6.30pm, will help you understand what the situation is with the Church of England’s fossil fuel investments, why divestment is necessary and how holding a listening meeting in your church or parish can create change. Register here.

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Resources, news, events and opportunities

Operation Noah will hold an online Supporters’ Event on Saturday 18 June 2022 at 10.30am. The theme of the event is Alternatives to Fossil Fuelled Violence: Listening to Our Global Neighbours, and will feature reflections from Christian climate campaigners from around the world alongside a variety of workshops on specific topics. Save the date!

As part of the SMK National Campaigner Awards 2022, Operation Noah has been shortlisted for the David & Goliath Award, which celebrates ‘individuals or small campaign groups that take on much bigger organisations and challenge vested power’. Winners will be announced at a virtual awards ceremony on 19 May at 4pm. Read more.

UK Divest needs your help in contacting local council candidates before the 5 May elections. Despite more than three-quarters declaring a climate emergency, local authorities continue to invest nearly £10 billion in the companies fuelling and profiting from the climate crisis. The 5 May elections offer an opportunity to get local politicians to publicly declare their support for fossil fuel divestment. Find your local candidates and send them an email here.

This game from the Financial Times offers a sense of the scale of change required to move us from a world that runs on fossil fuels to one that hardly needs them. Top Tip for game-players (and real-world policymakers): ambition is rewarded. Play the game.

Just 20 fossil fuel firms, including Shell and BP, are projected to spend $932 billion on new oil and gas fields by 2030. Yet the International Energy Agency says we must stop all new oil and gas fields to limit global heating to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Read more.

The chief executive of Scottish Power has said energy price rises later this year are going to be ‘horrific’. He said the 54% increase in the energy price cap was already affecting customers, and another steep rise is expected in October. In March, 500+ Church leaders called on the UK Government to implement a windfall tax on record-setting oil and gas profits in order to help people struggling to pay their bills – a call which has so far been ignored. Read more.

Faith leaders and institutions are being invited to sign a letter from the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. The letter calls for an end to coal, oil and gas expansion, for an equitable phase-out of existing fossil fuel developments and for the global transition to 100% renewable energy. Read more and sign the letter here.

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Please support the work of Operation Noah

Our campaigns and activities rely on donations from individuals and organisations, so please consider giving a one-off or regular donation.

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